The Supreme Court has asked the Union government to investigate the whereabouts of Captain Ashish Kumar, who went missing after his vessel, MT m, was hit by a missile in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1.
The family also received ransom calls on March 4, three days after the attack, according to the petition. The calls reportedly came from international numbers, including those linked to the UAE and Pakistan, with the callers demanding Rs 20 lakh. A Palau-flagged oil tanker was under US sanctions, was attacked on March 1 off Oman’s Musandam peninsula, leaving four people injured, according to the country’s maritime security centre. The 20-member crew of the tanker Skylight was evacuated after the attack, which took place about five nautical miles north of Musandam’s Khasab Port, located on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, the Oman Maritime Security Centre said in a post on X.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to look into the matter and submit a status report on the missing captain. The government is expected to respond by Monday.
